Unusual Circumstances
by pearlgirl97
Summary: Artemis kidnaps a girl about his age. Nothing you haven't heard before. The twist? The People asked him to do it. Don't know if there will be any Artemis/OC. Please R&R! Rated T because I'm paranoid. ON HIATUS, POSSIBLE REWRITE.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everybody! I was having some writers block for my other story so I thought I would give this a shot. In this story Artemis kidnaps a girl about his age. Nothing you haven't heard of before. The twist? The People asked him to do it. I don't know if there will be any Arty/OC or not, I just came up with it and am not sure where I'm going with this. Please read and review! I would love to hear what you have to say even if it isn't totally positive. Enjoy! :) After The Opal Deception. Holly is part of Sector Eight but they haven't saved the demons yet.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own anything except the plot. :'(**

Rebecca Anderson was trudging home from school, her backpack laden with homework. This should have painted a rather dismal picture but Rebecca was feeling great.

They had gotten UIL results back that day and she had come in third place for writing. True it was not first place but she had met the other students that had beat her and was not at all surprised she hadn't been the best. She did better than she did last year at least and was quite content with her score.

"Those kids were freaking geniuses," she thought. "Or is it genii? Yeah I think it's genii."

At that moment she felt her phone buzz to life. She pulled it out and saw that her au pair, Jenny, had sent her a text.

"Pick up milk on your way home." It was a good thing she had texted her right then, the grocery store was just two blocks away.

The reason she had an au pair was quite simply her father was never around. Stan was a prominent business man, who worked for a well respected computer company. His division dealt with international trade, which led him to constantly travel and spend almost no time at home.

Rebecca tried not to resent this too much. She understood that for some people, their job was the most important thing. She was sure that if she were ever in trouble her father would demand some time off to come take care of it, but while she was safe and relatively happy he would put his job first.

On average, she figured he was home for maybe 7 days a month.

She picked up the milk and started for home, deciding to take a short cut. It wasn't exactly the best part of town but her backpack combined with the milk was getting really heavy. It was still plenty light out and it would cut her walk by more than ten minutes.

It really seemed to come out of nowhere. One minute she was walking down the street with no one in sight, the next, a black bentley pulled out of an alley way right in front of her.

It stopped in front of her, very effectively cutting off her path. Time seemed to slow down, and some instinct she hadn't been aware of took over. She could hear her blood pumping in her ears, feel her heart stutter and speed up. Her muscles tensed, and she knew it was no coincidence or mistake.

Whoever was in there was there for her.

She dropped everything she was holding and sprinted in the opposite direction. "It's not like I can take it with me," she thought grimly.

She had barely made it six steps before she felt someone tackle her from behind. That someone was huge. The wind was knocked out of her as she collided with the concrete below, and she scraped her arm trying to protect her face.

Whoever it was got off of her immediately and picked her up like she weighed nothing. She hadn't gotten her wind back yet, and before she could even attempt to scream, she was shoved into the trunk of the car.

She felt the car accelerate under her and peel off. One thought fought its way to the surface of her panicking mind.

"What the heck just happened?"

**A/N Well thats chapter 1, I hope you liked it. Sorry it was so short. I will have the next chapter up pretty soon. Till then, bye!**

**EDIT 7/14/12:**

**I went back and fixed up the paragraphs and a few other little details. I didn't send this to my beta, so they may still be incorrect, but they're better than they were.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hi everybody! This is chapter two of Unusual Circumstances. Hope you like it. Please R&R! Sorry if this one is a lot more sloppy than the last I was in a hurry to get this done before I saw my cousins.**

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and the rest of the cast are still not mine. (sobs)**

Artemis Fowl was not in a good mood. He had gotten very little sleep the night before and now had a bound girl in the trunk of his car.

This was not his idea.

A few days previously Holly had contacted him via communication ring. She had refused to give him any information, only demanded he do this job for her. When he had questioned why on earth he should do it she had merely replied, "You owe me, mud boy."

That he could not deny. Holly had saved his life so many times a normal person would have lost count. Then there was Butler, for whom she had gone as far as to bring back from the dead. They both owed her big time.

He had deduced that she must be either very important or very dangerous or both, despite her unexceptional appearance. This idea was heightened by the fact that he could find virtually no information on the girl. There was plenty on the man who was, apparently, her father, but it didn't mention that he had a daughter. Foaly had sent him the address of where she lived and her picture, but even he had nothing else.

Even without additional information, it hadn't been difficult. He and Butler had merely observed her movements for a few days then closed in. He noted with interest that instead of freezing up completely, she recovered almost immediately. She actually made it a few steps before Butler apprehended her.

Now that that was out of the way he just needed to deal with one thing. This blasted new-found conscious.

He knew it was worse for Butler. Even before Artemis had given up on such horrible acts, Butler had never approved. Now they were kidnapping a defenseless girl, and he hated it.

"Artemis?" Butler interrupted his musings. He shook himself slightly, dispelling the unwelcome thoughts.

"Yes, Butler?"

"Sir, there is no one around and we are in the middle of nowhere. Should we let her out?" Artemis thought for a moment.

"Yes, that would probably be best. Pull up over there."

* * *

><p>Rebecca was trying to call the police. Whether her attacker had been in a huge hurry or he had just forgotten, he hadn't taken her phone away.<p>

That was the good news.

The bad news; in the brief moment he had picked her up he had zipcuffed her hands behind her back. She hadn't even felt it. Now, she trying to type 911 with her feet, her shoes discarded to the side.

She was so focused on her task that she didn't feel the car deccelerating. She didn't hear the car door open and slam shut. She didn't notice anything until the trunk actually opened, letting in the fading light.

Once again she froze, and the phone slipped from between her feet as she finally got a good look at her kidnapper. What she saw was not encouraging, to say the least.

He had to be just about the scariest man she'd ever seen. He was almost seven feet tall with muscle packed over every inch, his head was shaved nearly bald, and his body language portrayed someone who definitely knew what he was doing.

He picked up her phone and took out the battery with no emotion on his face, and Rebecca had to fight back tears of frustration. She had been so close, and now her only hope had been literally snatched away from her.

"Would you rather remain back here, or come sit up front," he asked, his deep voice interrupting her internal laments.

She blinked, not sure she had heard right.

"Excuse me?"

He repeated the question.

"Um, up front I guess."

She wasn't really sure she wanted to be up there, but figured she had a much better chance of getting away if she wasn't locked in a trunk. Plus, it was rather cramped.

She yelped when the man reached in and grabbed her upper arms, lifting her like she weighed nothing and depositing her on the hot tarmac. She ignored the unpleasant warmth on her feet, glancing around quickly, looking for some kind of land mark or human habitation. There was nothing but a dusty old backroad, a field, and a stop sign.

In this time, the man had already opened the door to the back seat and was waiting for her to get in. He grunted in impatience, and she quickly climbed in.

**A/N Sorry for the awkward ending. I want to keep the size of the chapters somewhat consistent. Please R&R! I would love some constructive criticism.**

**Edit 7/14/12- I just went back and fixed a few things. No beta and no major changes**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N This is chapter 3 of Unusual Circumstances. First I would like to give a big thanks to ShadowedPuppeteer for being my beta and to everyone who has read and reviewed. It's so nice to know that other people are enjoying my work. Also I'm going to start putting whose pov it is to avoid confusion. None of them will be first person, meaning no me, my, or i, but will still be from that person's point of view. Just letting you know.**

**Disclaimer: Wait for it... Nope I still don't own Artemis Fowl.**

**ThirdpersonPOV**

The sun was setting as Rebecca climbed into the car. "I must have been in that trunk longer than I thought. I always figured panic would make time slow down not speed up. I wonder if Jenny has called the police by now. Dad probably doesn't even know I'm missing yet."

She made to pull her sweater closer to block the cold but forgot her hands were still bound. She got in, the door slamming behind her.

The inside was dim, so she didn't notice the other figure until she sat down. She started slightly when he flipped on a light, illuminating the small space.

She was surprised to see he didn't look much older than her, maybe 16 at most? He was extremely pale -like he hadn't spent nearly enough time in the sun- and he wore a dark suit. His hair was raven black and his eyes were a shocking blue. Those eyes were regarding her cooly.

Rebecca forced herself to look into them, not wanting to appear weak.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

He must be the one in charge, as odd as that sounded. A kidnapper wasn't just going to bring some kid with him unless he had something to contribute, and he certainly wasn't old enough to drive the get away car. That was the giant's job apparently. Despite his apparent age, he had a commanding air about him that demanded attention.

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowed, taking everything in: her defiant posture, at odds with eyes that screamed uncertainty and fear; her frazzled appearance; and her lips set in a determined line.

"Hello, Miss Anderson. I am Artemis Fowl the Second."

She got the impression that this should have had her shaking with fear. She merely raised an eyebrow at him.

"Isn't Artemis a girl's name?"

She noted with some satisfaction that this resulted in a spark of annoyance in his eyes and silently applauded herself the witty rejoinder, while the wiser part of her mind warned her against antagonizing the boy.

"It is most commonly a girl's name, but it can be a boy's name as well."

Her eyes wandered over to the driver's seat, and Artemis, seeing this, answered her unvoiced question.

"That is Butler, my, ah, butler."

Butler nodded to her through the mirror while Rebecca frowned.

She turned back to Artemis. "Why am I here? What do you want?"

He looked her over, considering. He decided to be partially honest.

"A friend asked me to do them a favor." He saw the look of fear that crossed her face at the prospect of more enemies and felt the need to reassure her.

"Don't worry, I doubt they have anything too unpleasant in mind. Actually, I'm rather curious. They do not usually dabble in this sort of business; it came as quite a surprise when they made this request. What on earth would they want you for? I did a little research of my own before agreeing and found that you don't have a file on any database. Not a speck of information to be found."

Rebecca interupted him."I don't have a file?"

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. She appeared sincere about being unaware that there was no information her.

"My informant had your address, your name, your father's name, and your picture, but nothing else. When I did my own search, I couldn't find anything. Why is that? Have you been hiding from someone?"

He watched her reaction carefully and wasn't all that surprised by what he saw. She looked extremely bemused and uncertain. She obviously had no idea that, technically, she didn't exist.

"No, I haven't. I don't know anymore than you do."

Her brow furrowed and she voiced something that had been bothering her. "How did you know I was taking that road today? That alleyway was a dead end, so you couldn't have been following me on the other side, and I would have noticed if you had followed me before."

Artemis nodded as if he approved of the question. "We have been observing you from a distance for a few days now. Somehow, although you have no records, you were still able to enter a extracurricular contest. How that is possible I'm not sure, but I will find out. You placed which made you feel confident, and that confidence encouraged you to take risks. I guessed that you would take the shorter route and, obviously, I was right."

She stared at him incredulously. "And I thought those other kids were smart," she thought.

"So what now?"

Artemis brushed non-existent lint off of his suit.

"I will take you back to my home, where you will remain until further notice. If you behave yourself and don't cause any unnecessary grief, you will not be harmed. If, however, you try to escape or do anything that displeases me, we may have to take drastic measures."

He felt a small stab of guilt as her face drained of color and she shrank back in her seat. He knew he wouldn't really hurt her. For one thing, he didn't know if Butler would comply if asked. Kidnapping was bad enough but actual physical harm was another thing entirely. For another, he himself had changed enough that he couldn't bring himself to harm another human being, at least not an innocent one. He was mildly surprised at this revelation; the People must have done him some good.

But it would probably be best if she remained unaware of that. He had no idea what abilities she may have and needed to discourage her of using any of them. After all, the fairies wouldn't want her if she wasn't something special.

She opened her mouth to ask another question but was interrupted by a loud crack.

"What was that?" she asked, startled.

Artemis rose out of the seat slightly to look out the back window.

"D'arvit. Holly said something like this might happen," he murmured.

She frowned at the curse, wondering why it sounded so familiar, then turned her attention back to the window, still whole, but with a small crack spiderwebbing across.

"Bullet-proof glass. Why am I not surprised?" she thought.

There was a black sedan, about a hundred meters behind them but gaining. There was a gun poking out of the window.

"Friends of yours?" she asked quietly.

Artemis shot her a look. This new development seemed to have distracted her from her earlier fear.

"I have many enemies, but in this case, I believe they are here for you."

"Really?" She looked out again. "I had no idea I was so popular."

**A/N Well there's chapter 3 for you. I hope you liked it. The next update might not come as quickly since the weekends over. Again, big thanks to ShadowedPuppeteer. I couldn't ask for a better beta. Until next time, bye! :)**

**Edit 7/14/12- I just went back and changed a few things. No beta and no major changes**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hi everybody! Please don't kill me! I'm so sorry that took so much longer to update, I just hated writing this. I actually considered just skipping this and putting up chapter 5 first then chapter 4 but decided that that would just confuse everyone and it would be a rather immature way to solve the problem. Don't worry I'm putting 5 up right after this. Anyway, I hope you like it. Please R&R! Now to the unusually violent disclaimer.**

**Oh and thank you so much Silverblazes, that was the best review I have ever gotten. :)**

**And you too ShadowedPuppeteer, for being an awesome beta. This story wouldn't be nearly as good without you. :)**

**Disclaimer: NO I DO NOT OWN ARTEMIS FOWL SO STOP RUBBING IT IN! (cries)**

**ThirdPersonPOV**

Rebecca was extremely pale, her heart racing. All of her muscles had locked up and her eyes were wide and staring. Her shoulders were starting to ache from being tied up so long.

"That was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced in my life." She said aloud to no one in particular.

Butler, in his attempt to lose their pursuer, had been driving at more than 100 miles per hour on the twisting country back roads. If not for his amazing driving skills, they would have shot off the road multiple times and would be injured at the very least. As it was, they were still rather rattled. The other party had not dared to go at such a speed on such a treacherous route and quickly fell behind. However, he did not slow down until the other car had long since disappeared from view.

Butler glanced up at the mirror. "Do you know how they found us, Artemis?" He was eyeing Rebecca like he thought she might have alerted them. Artemis didn't answer, instead reaching down, he pulled out an odd device from under the seat. It had a small green light on the handle.

He scooted over so he was right next to her. She leaned away, uncomfortable with the sudden proximity.

"Hold still," he ordered.

She gave him an anxious look but complied. He held the device horizontally in front of her body, starting at her ankles, and began to move it upward. It didn't react in any way until it reached her torso, and then the light turned yellow.

He frowned and looked at her questioningly, but she just looked bewildered. He moved it to the right, but it didn't change. He moved it to the left and the light turned red and started beeping like a metal detector.

He pulled out a small swiss army knife that he had taken to carry around and chose the largest knife, rolling his eyes when she jerked away from him, terror written on her face.

"Calm down, Miss Anderson, I'm merely cutting the ties," he said, waiting for her to return to her original position. He grabbed her wrist to hold her steady and quickly cut through the plastic, letting her go as soon as it broke.

She immediately brought her hands to her chest, rubbing the red welts that had formed on her wrists while watching him warily, then reaching her arms up and back to relieve the tension in her shoulders.

"Please remove your sweater," he asked after letting her stretch for a moment.

She thought about refusing for a moment, but decided she didn't want to antagonize him while he was holding a knife, even if it was a small one and he claimed he wouldn't use it. She unzipped the grey material and pulled it off, revealing the plain green T-shirt underneath.

He brought the device up again and moved it over her left side. The beep turned to a solid tone when it went over her arm.

"Hold out your arm please."

She did and he noticed a long scar on the underside of her forearm.

"If I may ask, how did you get that scar?"

She seemed a bit thrown off by the question, and started tracing it absently.

"Um, when I was 7, I broke my arm trying to learn how to ride a bike. The bone was sticking out and I had to have surgery. Why?"

"Hmm, well unless I'm mistaken, they did more than fix the bone. You appear to have a tracking chip implanted in your arm. I'm judging by the look on your face that you had no idea it was there."

She just stared at him dumbfounded, and unconsciously probed the scar, as if she could feel what he was talking about.

"You think that someone in the operating room somehow managed to put a chip in my arm without the other doctors noticing or telling my father and has been tracking me for all these years?" she questioned in monotone.

Artemis agreed that it sounded a bit unlikely, from a normal person's point of view, but then, wasn't this whole situation?

"Unless you intentionally alerted those pursuing us, which I doubt. I do have a way of proving if my theory is correct or not."

He unbuckled himself and moved to the seat to her left. He pulled down the arm rest and motioned for her to set her arm down.

Once she had done that he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"This phone is much more technologically advanced than any you've ever seen. It can do all of the standard stuff like stream films, video, check my stocks, but it also has an x-ray camera and display. It should show whether or not I am right."

He held it over her scar then pulled it back and fiddled with it for a moment. When he held it up it showed an image of her ulna. There was a small square of white nestled up against it.

He watched her closely to see how she was taking it. Her face showed many emotions. Shock, confusion, and a little bit of fear. He supposed that was natural. She had just realized that peoples unknown had been watching her for years for lord knows what purpose.

"Butler, could you hand me her bag? I had better check that as well."

Abandoning her thoughts of chips and stalkers, Rebecca gaped at Artemis as Butler handed him her backpack.

"You grabbed my backpack?" That was a surprise. Her whole kidnapping couldn't have taken more than ten seconds before they were on the road, not really enough time to do anything else but grab and go.

"Of course," he said while running his detector over her bag. "We couldn't leave any evidence behind, now, could we?"

Her heart sank as she processed what he said. Without any evidence that she had left in a violent or rushed manner, the police might not come to the immediate conclusion that she had been kidnapped. They might suspect she had just ran away or something. It wouldn't be too hard to believe, she didn't have a horrible home life but it wasn't exactly the best. They could easily come to that conclusion. They would still look but not with the same urgency.

These guys knew what they were doing.

While she thought, Artemis finished his inspection of her backpack and found it was clean.

"Artemis, what about the one in her arm?" Butler asked, looking concerned. He was fairly sure he could handle anything that their antagonists threw at them, but he would prefer not to take any risks.

Artemis gave him his trademark vampire smile that made Rebecca shiver.

"Do you have so little faith in me old friend? I have it covered."

Once again, he reached under his seat.

This time he pulled out a small, dull metal box with a button on it.

For a moment, there was silence. Then Rebecca asked incredulously, "Um, what is that supposed to do exactly?" "I'm starting to over use the word 'um'," she thought.

"It's a little homemade EMP."

She started slightly.

"EMP? But don't those use gamma rays?" she asked anxiously. She was pretty sure she had read about those, and they were supposed to be really harmful.

He gave her a smile as well, this one much more patronizing than vampiric.

"Don't worry it is perfectly safe. It can be adjusted so it only sends out a mild pulse. For instance, it can block the signal coming from that chip without blowing any fuses, which would be very painful for you, but it won't affect the car or the plane."

"Plane?" she interrupted him.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You didn't think I was from here, did you?"

It was true she had noticed his accent, but she hadn't given it much thought. She was much more concerned with her situation than his origins. Now, it was a much bigger issue.

"So where are we going exactly?" she asked quietly. She had a guess but she was hoping she was wrong.

"Ireland, of course." She didn't know what was so 'of course' about it.

* * *

><p>Rebecca wasn't even surprised when she heard they were taking a private jet. "Why not?" she thought a little darkly as Butler led her across the tarmac. They her shoes were still in the trunk, to the best of her knowledge, but it had cooled off enough by now that it wasn't too uncomfortable.<p>

She looked around. If she was going to try and escape then this would be the last chance she would get for a while. Almost as if he read her thoughts Butler tightened his grip on her shoulder.

"I really wouldn't try anything if I were you," Artemis said airily from Butler's other side. "If you try to scream, Butler will pinch a cluster of nerves at the base of your neck and you will be out before you can even draw breath. If you try to run..." He didn't need to continue. She could feel the massive strength in those huge hands. She wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

In ten minutes they were all on the plane. Butler was getting permission to take off and the two minors got settled. Rebecca tentatively sipped a glass of water and looking out the window while Artemis set up his laptop.

"Why am I still here?" she wondered. She had decided a dozen times to jump out while Butler was occupied. The stairs had been drawn up, but it wasn't that far a drop, and she was pretty sure she could out run Artemis. She might be able to make it to the building, or at least draw some attention and get some help before Butler caught up with her. The argument between him and the flight director wouldn't last forever, yet she was still there.

"I'm a coward," she thought with disgust. She knew the reason she hadn't run was that she was terrified something would go wrong and she would be punished. She might trip or just not run fast enough. They would take her away before help got there and they would make good on the promise Artemis had made.

_"If, however, you try to escape or do anything that displeases me, we may have to take drastic measures."_

She told herself that she was being ridiculous and that they would probably do horrible thing to her whether she tried to escape or not, but she still did nothing. She was so lost in thoughts of escape and self depreciation that she almost didn't notice the black sedan speeding in the distance. She jumped as she recognized it. She was almost certain it was the same one that had chased them before.

Artemis saw where her attention was and looked out the window as well.

"D'arvit!" Once again, she felt mild recognition at the word. He dashed to the front of the jet. She heard him telling Butler to just go.

Almost immediately she felt the jet come to life and start to move. The sedan was getting closer- maybe three quarters of a mile away and coming on much faster than was safe. She felt the plane building speed but the car was still coming. But then the jet started to rise and the car skidded to a halt.

Rebecca watched with her nose pressed to the glass. She saw the car door open and someone step out. The only thing she could make out from that distance was a tall, willowy person with a wild mane of red hair blowing around.

She shuddered. It felt as if the figure was looking right at her. They watched each other until the figure was just part of the tarmac.

**A/N Praise the Lord, I'm done! I hope you guys liked it. Thank you all that have read my story, it means so much to me. In case any of you noticed, yes I took the whole x-ray phone thing from the 6th book. I don't know anything about technology so I just decided to go with that and hope it was actually possible. Again thanks to everyone and especially ShadowedPuppeteer. Please R&R. The next chapter is coming up right after this. See you soon!**

**Edit 7/14/12- changed a bit of the interaction between Rebecca and Artemis, plus a few other tiny things. Nothing major**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Hi again. Here is chapter 5 of unusual circumstances. Let me tell you I had a much better time writing this one than chapter 4. Oh no. I just realized something. Artemis hates 4. He loves 5... I think I need to see a doctor. I do feel a little guilty that I'm working on this instead of doing my homework.O_o Anyway, thanks for all of the reviews, you know I love 'em. I hope you like this chapter. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Do I look like a millionaire to you... or male?**

**RebeccaPOV**

Rebecca watched the city grow smaller as the plane ascended until all she could see was the sprawl of light.

She sighed, knowing that any chance she had at escaping had virtually disappeared. She had briefly considered jumping out but dismissed it on the grounds of A: she wasn't entirely sure how to use a parachute, or open the door for that matter, and B: Artemis would surely see what she was doing and call for Butler. Not that it mattered anyway, because as soon as they had reached about 40,000 feet altitude, Butler put the plane on autopilot and came out to watch her.

Artemis was on his laptop, ignoring her for the most part, although his eyes wandered over every few minutes. Butler had the chair leaned back and his eyes were closed, but she doubted he was actually asleep.

She glanced out the window and noticed her reflection and realized how grimy she felt.

"I need to clean up," she told Artemis.

"The restroom is over there," he said, not looking up. She got up and started to walk off but Butler grabbed her wrist.

"Only ten minutes."

She nodded nervously and he released her.

"It's probably because he doesn't want me out of his sight too long," she decided, thinking it was a rather odd order.

Rebecca locked the door behind her and turned to look at her reflection critically.

"I'm a mess," she finally declared. Her dark brown hair was falling out of its usual braid and was standing up in several places. The small amount of makeup she had put on was smeared and her green eyes were slightly blood-shot.

She did her best to fix her appearance, raking her fingers through her hair and putting it up again, and washing all of the gunk off her face. When she had done all she could, she leaned back against the wall and let out a long, shuddering breath.

"How did this happen?" she wondered. Just that morning, she had been going to school, sweating in athletics, chatting with her classmates, just doing things she did every day. Now, she was on a plane going to Ireland, a place she knew almost nothing about.

"It could be worse," she supposed. "We could be going to China or Japan. At least in Ireland they speak English." If she somehow managed to escape she certainly had a better chance if she could make herself understood by the locals. If she couldn't, she was screwed. Heck, she was already screwed, but she had to keep some hope up.

She sighed. "Why me?" This wasn't a pitiful moan, but an actual question. Why did they want her? Sure her dad had some money but nothing that these people would consider significant, so they probably weren't be going for ransom. Then again, it wasn't even these guys that wanted her; they were just doing a "favor" - a favor for people who apparently didn't usually get involved in this kind of stuff.

And what about that chip in her arm? It had been years since the accident, who had been watching her for that long and why? She was a nobody. Rebecca wondered if it had something to do with that person that had followed them.

Then there was the matter of her apparently not having any records. How was that possible? She went to school and got check ups and joined clubs, why wasn't she on any databases?

It was possible they were lying. They could just be a bunch of creeps that were playing mind games with her. But she couldn't help but doubt it. She herself had never actually seen any files that she could remember. She had asked her dad about her birth certificate once but he said that they had given it to her mother and he didn't know what happened to it. She had never caused any trouble that would go on a criminal record. As crazy as it sounded, there was actually some plausibility to their story.

She let out a long sigh and felt tears sting her eyes. She didn't try to wipe them away. She hated crying but knew from experience that if she tried to hold it in it would just explode out later and not necessarily in private.

She was startled by a knock at the door.

"Just one sec." She winced at the way her voice cracked. She washed her face again in an attempt to compose her expression.

She opened the door to Butler, just raising his hand to knock again. He let it drop without saying anything and headed back to his seat. She frowned and then followed. Artemis was still on the computer and Butler had resumed his former position. She decided to follow his example and fell asleep almost immediately.

**ArtemisPOV**

Artemis glanced up from his computer. Rebecca appeared to be asleep.

"What do you make of her?"

If he was startled by Butler's question he didn't show it. He merely looked her over for a moment and then sighed.

"I don't know, Butler." The words seemed to pain him. "She seems intelligent but not abnormally so; She doesn't seem physically strong, either, although she does seem to have a strong will; And she is either being absolutely honest about her records or she is an extremely good actress who has mastered all forms of body language. She seems to be totally unremarkable other than her lack of a file and that is what frustrates me. Why does the LEP want her?"

Butler started to open his mouth to answer but was interuppted by a small noise. It seemed that Rebecca was mumbling in her sleep. Artemis leaned forward, intrigued. He knew that sleep often revealed what the mind was most concerned about at the time and thought this might provide some information about what she might be hiding.

It was mostly unintelligible; they only caught bits and pieces that didn't make any sense and the occasional sigh. Her expression was mostly blank. Suddenly, she frowned and they both leaned closer to make out what she was saying.

"Hmm. Shut up y... stupi... sprite."

They both froze, staring shocked at her face. She mumbled some more, but nothing they could discern. Eventually, she stopped and fell into a more restful sleep.

Artemis looked thoughtful.

"And the plot thickens."

**A/N Well, that was chapter 5, I hope you liked it. The next chapter might take a little while as well so don't hold your breath too long. I will try to be faster this time. Love you guys, till next time! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I am so sorry. I said I would have this chapter out faster and instead it took longer and it's only one chapter. I have no excuses other than I fell into one of those trenches where you just don't feel like writing and school has been busy. I hope you guys aren't too upset with me. Anyway, here is chapter 6, finally. I hope you guys like it. If you have anything to say at all then put it in a review, I'd love to hear it.**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I do in fact own Artemis Fowl.**

***Feels Butler press gun to back of her head***

**Actually, I don't. It's all Eoin's.**

**RebeccaPOV**

Rebecca's dreams were vivid. All around her were lights and noise. Colors and images flashed in her vision making her feel dizzy and sick.

She was in great pain, her body aching all over, and she had the feeling that she was upside down. Her vision was red. Something dripped down her temple.

Then, her vision took on a blue tinge and the pain started to go away. She suddenly found herself upright, no longer in pain, and following a midget with green skin.

"This is odd," she thought, but she did what all dreamers do and just went with it.

She looked around and found they were in a desert. Despite that, the sky was stormy and looked like it couldn't wait to pour down. She tried to focus on her more immediate surroundings but found it difficult. She got the vague impression that things were not as they should be, then focused on where she was going.

They were approaching what seemed to be a large red blob that was yelling quite loudly in a language she couldn't understand. Its anger seemed to be directed at another small person, this one with nut brown skin. The green person opened its mouth and-

"Miss Anderson, wake up." Artemis shook her shoulder, jolting her out of her dream. She looked panicked for a moment, then remembered where she was. She felt a pang in her stomach as she realized her kidnapping hadn't been a nightmare.

She ground the sleep out of her eyes with her fists and stretched her arms up until her back made a satisfying crack. She glanced out the window and frowned. There was morning sunlight pouring through which puzzled her. It hadn't even been ten yet when they'd left. "How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"Six hours, but you have to remember the time difference," he said, his voice sounding unusually blank.

"Oh," she said quietly, looking out the window at the emerald landscape below them, her eyes wide. Rebecca was no stranger to flying. She had occasionally travelled with her father on his trips and from all of the times they had moved, but she never stopped enjoying it. She loved seeing the land spread out around her like a map, being able to see for miles. She especially liked it when they hit mild turbulence or when the plane made wide turns, reminding her of a roller coaster, not at all disturbed by the rattling that usually had other passengers reaching for barf bags.

Artemis cleared his throat, startling Rebecca from her reverie.

She turned to face him warily. "Yes?"

He fixed her with his cool gaze. "When you hear the word 'fairy' what is the first thing that comes to mind?"

She looked at him blankly. "Er, I'm sorry, what?"

He sighed and repeated the question, speaking slowly as if he were talking to someone not quite right in the head.

She scowled. "Um, I suppose Tinker Bell would be the first thing that comes to mind." She looked away, feeling her cheeks warm.

"Nothing else?" he pressed.

She hesitated. "Well... not really." she said a little awkwardly.

He didn't look satisfied but refrained from questioning her further.

"Fairies?" she wondered. "Great. Not only is he a kidnapper, but he's a nutter too." She sighed and looked back out the window. It really was beautiful. It was a shame she couldn't be visiting under better circumstances.

* * *

><p>When they got off the jet, they were greeted almost immediately by a very familiar black Bentley. Her eyes widened at the sight.<p>

"How did that get here?" she asked, flabbergasted.

Artemis smirked at her. "It's not the same vehicle you have seen in America; merely the exact same model."

He set off for the car, Rebecca watching dumbly. She cringed when she felt Butler prod her back and followed him.

There was a man waiting next to it holding a pair of keys. He ignored her completely, apparently not at all curious as to who she was or what she was doing there.

He handed Butler the keys, nodded to Artemis, and walked off quickly towards the building.

Butler began inspecting the car, opening all of the doors and looking underneath it.

"What is he doing? Checking for bombs?" she wondered, then decided he was probably doing exactly that.

She suddenly felt extremely jittery and started looking around. Butler was occupied; Artemis was standing just within arm's reach but didn't appear to be paying her any attention; there were _people_ around, surely close enough to hear if she got a good scream out.

"I would not do that if I were you," Artemis said softly, without looking at her. She jumped. Could he tell what she was thinking? Probably. But what could he do? If she acted fast enough, she might be able to get away. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest, and she made the decision.

She drew a deep breath. "This will probably be my last chance," she thought. And then she turned from the car and ran.

She got a feeling of 'deja vu'. The scream had almost made it past her throat when she felt someone grab her arm, whipping her around, causing her scream to turn into a strangled yelp. She collided with Butler, who immediately brought his arms up, one wrapping around her and holding her close, the other slamming over her mouth, silencing her before she could recover.

She wriggled and kicked but he might as well have been a brick wall for all she accomplished. She felt herself being lifted up and, once again, shoved unceremoniously into the trunk of the car.

**ThirdpersonPOV**

Butler did a quick survey of the area. Miraculously, no one had noticed, too busy with loading and unloading bags and trying to get out of there as fast as possible. The girl was secure and it would be impossible for her to get escape without outside assistance. Artemis was fine. The situation was under control.

He let out a sigh, then adopted a more formal manner. He led an impassive Artemis to the side of the car, and opened the door for him.

"Master Fowl."

"Butler," he replied, and climbed in. He closed the door, started the car, and drove off at a leisurely pace, looking for all the world as if it was just any other day.

**A/N Well, that was chapter 6. The next chapter will probably come out before the weekends over. Again, I am so sorry this took so long. It would have come out sooner, but my beta couldn't get to it, so I decided to wait. Trust me, it was worth it. This one is much better than the original. Please show me that you forgive me with a review, even if it is to say that I'm losing it, although I would prefer if you avoided screaming. Thanks for reading, bye. :) **

**Edit 7/14/12- Just changed a few little things.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Well, it's working again. A big "duh" I know. I hope this isn't something that will keep happening randomly cause that could be extremely annoying. Sorry for the long delay. I'm going to stop saying when I'm going to update cause something always seems to go wrong. Anyway, hope you like this chapter. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Artemis will make Butler shoot me if I don't say this, so, as you already know, I do not own Artemis Fowl.**

Rebecca lay very still, her eyes shut and breathing deeply. She wasn't particularly claustrophobic, but anyone who has been forced into a small space under such stressful conditions would be likely to have a panic attack, which she was now trying to avoid. She told herself that there was plenty of room, and that she was there because she wanted to be there.

"Of course you are. You do this all the time, just for fun," one part of her mind thought sarcastically. She ignored it.

Once her heart beat had slowed down she opened her eyes. Of course, it was pitch black so she couldn't see, so she started feeling around. She didn't know what she was looking for, but whatever it was, she didn't find it and gave up after a moment.

"What am I going to do?" she wondered. She was pretty sure her chances of escape had been reduced to zero, if not lower. Wherever they were going would certainly be far from civilization, and, considering everything she had seen so far, would probably have a very good security system. Not that she'd get far with Butler around.

She shuddered at the thought. Butler was not someone to cross.

As for Artemis, she wasn't entirely sure what to think. In some ways, he was even more terrifying than his servant. He was obviously used to being the one in charge; the way he carried himself radiated authority and confidence; and from what she had seen, he seemed pretty smart.

But who was Artemis exactly? The way he'd introduced himself made it sound like he must be someone important. I mean, who still included things like 'the Second' these days?

His name was vaguely familiar, though. Maybe she'd heard them in passing, like on the TV or in the paper. Although, that seemed unlikely...

Rebecca groaned and gave up; maybe if she left it alone it would come back to her eventually.

She wondered what he was going to do to her. He had said that if she tried anything then unpleasant things would happen. Well, she had certainly tried something so, supposedly, her situation was about to become even worse.

She was surprised at how calm she felt. She decided it must be because there was nothing she could do. There weren't any options to consider, no trying to find a way to out smart them. All she could do was sit there and think.

About a minute later she smacked her forehead. She'd forgotten to finish her English essay that was due today!

She started giggling hysterically.

"Seriously?" she thought. "That's what you're worried about? I bet John didn't finish that paper, and he wasn't even kidnapped!"

She imagined going up to her teacher and trying to explain what happened while she just screamed "NO EXCUSES!" and ended up laughing so hard she started crying.

**ArtemisPOV**

Artemis stared stonily at the back of the chair, deep in thought.

The events of the past hour disturbed him slightly. He had anticipated the girl trying to escape and had been prepared to take action- or rather, had been prepared to let Butler take action- but he had hoped to avoid it. Even though he knew that Butler would never harm her without provocation, she didn't, and he knew she must have been terrified.

Why was it necessary for her to be here? He had faith that Holly would never ask him to do something like this unless she was a threat, but how could she be? She had been completely helpless in the hands of Butler. Not for lack of trying either; he could tell she had been fighting with everything she had. It was simply that she was a normal person who would never stand a chance.

Therein lied his confusion. Like he had said the night before, she was completely unremarkable. She obviously wasn't a genius, a genius would have realized that such an obvious form of escape would be futile, and she didn't seem to have any unusual abilities. The only other thing he could think of was if she had harmful knowledge, but he had ruled even that out with his questioning. He did have a theory as to the mumbling, but even if it was correct, which they usually were, it still didn't justify this kind of reaction from the People.

He wondered why it bothered him so much. He was surprised at just how sick doing this made him feel. He wasn't a criminal any more but he was still Artemis Fowl. Surely he wasn't going soft?

He looked around the seat at Butler. His knuckles were white and he was repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists around the wheel.

"Speak your mind, old friend, before you break the steering wheel."

Butler was silent a moment, then let out a long breath. "I don't like this, Artemis. I thought that the criminal activities were over. I feel disgusting making her come with us against her will. If it were anyone but Holly..." He trailed off.

And that was the heart of the matter. No matter how much they disliked this situation, they would go through with it because Holly asked them to.

"I know, old friend. Hopefully, this will be over soon."

Butler remained silent, and Artemis resumed his contemplation.

He had told Rebecca that if she tried to escape then she would be punished. He had hoped that she wouldn't be stupid enough to try, but apparently not. Now he had to think of some way to frighten her.

He sighed. Why couldn't the girls he kidnapped just behave?

**A/N I'm starting to realize that this story is going to have a lot of filler chapters. I'll try to make them more interesting. You guys might be getting a special chapter next time. Special meaning different from what I've done so far. Thanks for reading, bye! :)**

**Edit 7/14/12- Just changed a few little things, nothing major.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Hi guys. Don't Kill Me! I've got a test tomorrow! I'm sorry this took so long, I just didn't feel very motivated in writing for the last few weeks. I couldn't get past the first few paragraphs so I left it alone for a bit. Then about a week ago I pretty much just picked up my computer and got it all typed in a few hours. You know how it is, and I know you don't want to hear it. So, here's that special chapter I was talking about. Hope you guys like it. This has only been through my beta once, so sorry if there are more mistakes than usual.**

**Disclaimer: Actually, I do own this guy, just not (most of) the rest of the cast.**

**JohnPOV**

John had finally managed to fall asleep, when, what seemed like thirty seconds later, his alarm went off.

"Gah!"

He shot up in his bed with enough momentum to throw himself off, his legs trapped in the sheets, the rest of him face down on the floor. "Ugh, you're kidding me," he groaned into the carpet, his voice muffled.

He disentangled himself, spat out a bit of lint, and stumbled to his desk.

"What's a guy got to do to get some sleep around here?" he grumbled as he started up his computer.

_How about not stay up all night in the chat room?_ a voice in his head suggested obnoxiously. He rolled his eyes at himself and checked to make sure he hadn't gotten any new messages in the last couple of hours he hadn't been on. His moved a piece of paper off his keyboard.

His face drained of any color there had been as he stared in horror at his half finished English essay.

"Nooo!" he wailed. "I am so dead!"

Ten minutes later, he was slouching over a bowl of cereal, trying to cram more words onto the page and food in his mouth simultaneously. Unfortunately, this was one of those papers where you have to actually put some thought into it, not just ramble about the subject, and all too soon, it was time to go or he'd miss the bus.

He trudged miserably to the bus stop just in time to catch the bus. He was surprised to see Rebecca wasn't in their usual place, but shrugged, figuring she had gotten Jenny to take her. Then he pouted when he realized he didn't have anyone to complain to about the injustice of homework.

He tried to finish his work on the bus, but it was almost impossible to write with the bus jolting every time they hit a bump, and all of the students talking so loudly they were almost screaming, despite the bus aid's best efforts.

They were soon at the school and he immediately had to head to P.E. He absolutely abhored athletics, having spent almost all of his time inside on the computer, but it was required. He was in the "lazy kid" group, as Rebecca liked to call it, so all they had to do was walk up and down bleachers for thirty minutes. His thighs and calfs were burning and felt like jello by the end of it.

As soon as he was done getting dressed he had to head straight to English. Joy.

He sat down and looked around for Rebecca. Her seat was empty and she wasn't hanging out anywhere else in the room. That was odd; she was never sick. He felt a pang of concern and promised himself he'd go visit her after school.

The teacher came in and established order, then called roll. She paused when she came to Rebecca's name, then went on.

When she was finished she called out for a volunteer to read their paper. John cringed, but then the loudspeaker whined to life.

_"All students and teachers, please report to the cafeteria_." He sighed with relief. Anything to put it off just a little bit longer.

They all filed out and walked to the cafeteria. Once everyone was seated the principal stood up. He looked upset. John wondered if they weren't meeting the standard for passing grades or something but then he started talking.

Later, when he thought back to this moment, John had no idea what was said. He remembered other things, like the strained look on the principal's face, the smell of tater tots from the kitchen, the other kids messing around, not really paying any attention.

After the principal said that Rebecca was missing, John didn't really remember anything.

There was a stunned silence, and then everyone started talking. Where might she be? Was she alive? Had she run away? Was she kidnapped? Murdered? John could only sit there, unmoving an expressionless.

Rebecca? Gone? No, that wasn't possible. Stuff like that didn't happen in real life. Kidnapping was something that you saw on TV, that happened to other people. What a shame, then flip to the cartoons.

This was all some joke. A sick, twisted, sadistic joke that he was going to scream at them for making when they said, "Ha, you should have seen your faces." But they didn't. The principal told them that if they knew anything about her whereabouts then come to them immediately and tell them. He told them to help her friends and family get through this.

John felt it when people turned and looked at him. Everyone knew he and Rebecca were best friends. Rebecca wasn't popular, but she wasn't as much of an outcast as him. She was friendly to anyone who tried to make conversation with her and was never mean unless they were mean first. She could have been in a clique if she wanted to be, she could have had a bunch friends, but she wasn't really interested. John was the only person at school that she was close to. "Weirdo by choice," they sometimes joked.

They were dismissed. John rose automatically when everyone else did. Before he reached the door, he was pulled aside by the principal.

"You okay, John?" he asked with concern.

John stared at him blankly. How could he be okay?

The principal cleared his throat. "Look John, we know that you're Rebecca's best friend. Do you have any idea where she might be? In these sort of cases the police usually think it's just a runaway. Did she give you any indication that she would be leaving or even where she'd be going?"

That snapped John out of it. This is what he needed. He couldn't just mope about his best friend disappearing, he had to help find her.

"She didn't run away, sir," he said angrily. "She's not like that." She wouldn't do that to him.

The principal sighed. "Alright, but if you have any idea at all of where she might be, let us know. I'm really sorry John." He dismissed him back to class. They still had a few minutes left.

He told the teacher that he didn't have his paper. "Don't worry about it, sweetie," she said, pity in her eyes. For the briefest second he felt relief. Then he hated himself so much that it made him feel sick. The rest of the day was a blur. He had no homework.

He dropped his back pack by the door. His mom wasn't home from work yet and his dad was taking a nap. He walked into his room and looked around. Everything was exactly as he'd left it that morning. It was also what it had looked like the other night when Rebecca had come over. She had joked how she was almost afraid to touch anything with how unnaturally clean it was, like she always did. Everything except the desk...

He sat down on the bed and cried. Ten minutes, twenty, thirty.

_Stop blubbering, you idiot. How about instead crying about it, you actually do something?_

He wiped his eyes and got on the computer. Time to get to business.

**A/N So, that's John for you. Did you like him? Hate him? Let me know in a review. Also, I have a friend called With_The_Wolves. She has a fairly interesting fanfic she's working on. It's a crossover between Ranger's Apprentice and Hunger Games, which I definitely think should have a bigger archive. Book about a girl who's good with a bow and arrow. Book about a boy who's good with a bow and arrow. Seems like it shouldn't be too hard to come up with something. Anyway, check it out, it's pretty good so far. Well, I think that's it, love you guys, bye. :)**

**Edit 7/14/12- Changed a few little things, nothing big.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Hi everybody. Yes, I know that I said this chapter would be out sooner than the last one, but I never seem to factor in laziness and writer's block when I make statements like that. So, next time I make an approximation on when I'm going to update, just assume it will be sometime in the next year. If not, then it means either A) I have done something unforgivable and been banned from fanfiction for all eternity. B) We have been converted into Amish-ness and am no longer allowed near a computer. C) I'm dead. Or even D) I've given up. Then I suppose there's E) Other. Anyway, this chapter just didn't want to come out and I ended changing what I originally planned on doing completely. I won't tell you what it was because I will probably use it at some point later on when it's feeling more cooperative. Well, here it is finally. R&R please. :)**

**Disclaimer: You know, I saw this one thing on a profile and it said, "Disclaimers used to be fun. Then I ran out of ideas." I'm slightly worried by this, so instead of saying something funny like I usually do (Well, I think it's funny) I'm just going to give a standard disclaimer so I can save the funny ones for when I'm in a bad mood or something... What was the point of all this? Oh yeah, I do not in any way own Artemis Fowl.**

**Rebecca's POV**

Rebecca was trying to amuse herself by thinking up different ways of either causing Artemis pain or escaping when she had a very disturbing revelation. It caught her so off guard that she forgot she was lying in the trunk of a car, tried to sit up, and banged her head against the roof. It hurt enough that she didn't notice the sudden lack of sound from the engine.

"Ow! Holy-" she groaned, cradling her cranium and trying to blink the stars away. Once her head stopped throbbing, her breath started coming in quick gasps.

Oh crap oh crap oh crap ohcrapohcrapohcrap _oh crap-_ she was _so_ screwed. It did not help her little panic attack that they had finally reached their destination and Butler opened the trunk. He was the last person she wanted to see at the moment.

Butler took one look at her and closed the lid.

_What was that about?_ wondered the very tiny part of her that wasn't panicking.

He disappeared for a moment, and that moment was long enough for her to feel like she was starting to suffocate. He reappeared and helped her out of the car, supporting her so her legs didn't collapse, and pushed a brown paper bag into her hands.

"Breath into this," he ordered.

_How the heck is that supposed to help? _she wondered, but did as she was told. She fixed the paper bag around her mouth and started to breath in and out, watching it move with her breaths. The bag quickly inflated and deflated in a way Rebecca would have found comical if she hadn't been the one doing it.

"Try to breath regularly. No deep breaths, that will just make it worse. You're alright, you've just had a scare. You're going to be fine."

_Well of course I've had a scare. I've been kidnapped by a giant and a demon child! _she thought scathingly. Obviously everything he was saying was just to try and calm her down, but she was still surprised by how... gentle he sounded. Anyway, it had the desired effect. He continued to talk soothingly, and she was soon able to breath properly.

She let the hand holding the bag drop to her side, and she stared at the ground in disgust. She could not believe how she had just acted. She'd started freaking _hyperventilating_, like some Nervous Nelly she and John would go hysterical over in a bad movie, paper bag and all. And she always said how she would handle herself better in that kind of situation...

"You guys keep paper bags in your car?" she asked out of the blue, still glaring at the ground. There was a soft chuckle and she looked up to see Artemis smiling derisively.

"We wanted to be prepared for all eventualities, including the one where we have picked up someone prone to panic attacks."

She gritted her teeth and looked away. If he kept looking at her like that she'd end up slugging him, and that would not be good for her health.

"I must say, that incident did seem a little random. Either the situation is just now sinking in, or you have come to the conclusion that we are undoubtedly going to kill you."

She stared at him, shocked by how callously he spoke... and that he had guessed right.

"Let's go inside, shall we?"

It made her feel sick that he made no effort to alleviate her fears. She looked behind him and finally noticed the big medieval caste they had parked in front of.

_Whoa, how'd I miss that one?_

* * *

><p>Artemis paused when they stepped into the entrance hall.<p>

"Butler, show our guest to her room. There is something I need to attend to."

Rebecca barely noticed the order, too busy gaping at the grandeur surrounding them.

Butler tapped her on the shoulder and gestured to the right. "Follow me."

He led her down several hallways and up a flight of stairs. She had to run to catch up with him several times, his longer strides covering much more distance than her short ones. It didn't help that she kept slowing down to look around.

They finally stopped at a door identical to the many they had passed. He pulled out a key and she felt a slight spur of hope. She could figure out how to pick a lock, right? It was soon dashed when he used it not on the door, but a box on the wall beside the door. He pulled back the lid to reveal a fingerprint scanner. He pressed his forefinger against it, and she heard a lock disengage.

So much for that.

He made an 'after you' gesture so she opened the door and stepped through.

After a moment of scrutiny, she decided that the overall impression was that of a hotel room, minus the abstract paintings and TV. Comfortable enough, but no personality.

The carpet was a color slightly darker than oatmeal and the walls and bed covers were cream. There was a door that seemed to lead to its own bathroom. There was also a small cushy chair a few feet to the side of the bed, a dresser, a desk, a closet, and a window.

Hearing a small noise, she spun around just in time to see the door close, and a moment later she heard the lock re-engage. She waited a few moments longer, (though she didn't know why) then sighed and sat down on the bed.

She really wished she'd handled herself better earlier, but it hadn't been without provocation. Like Artemis had said, she was now fairly sure she would not be allowed to return to her home alive.

While she was in the trunk she'd remembered a book she had checked out from the school library a couple months previously, just before Christmas break. The library wasn't going to let anyone check out any books over the holiday in case someone lost theirs, so she had checked out a short one in hopes that she could finish it before she left. She hadn't made it very far as it turned out that it was actually part of a second series and you had to read the first to really know what was going on, and she hadn't been very interested to begin with.

She had, however, made it far enough to know that one of the main characters got kidnapped. The villains had been wearing masks and driving a van and they had jumped her and her brother while they were on their way back from school. Remarkably similar to what had happened to her, except Artemis and Butler weren't wearing masks and, obviously, she didn't have a brother. One thing led to another and she tried to escape. The only thing she accomplished was seeing her captors faces. Then the character remembered a book that she herself had read. It had pointed out that once you knew who your kidnappers were, they could hardly let you go.

Once you had seen your kidnapper's face you could identify them to the police. Once you knew who they were, they could no longer afford to let you leave alive.

**ArtemisPOV**

Artemis watched the girl on the screen. She had her face buried in her hands, but she wasn't crying, just scared and frustrated, he guessed. After a moment he turned around, satisfied nothing else would occur.

"I know you're there, Holly. I would appreciate it if you would reveal yourself." For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a slight shimmer and former Captain Short of the LEP appeared.

"Hello, Artemis. Good to know the invitation still stands and I'm not puking all over the foyer."

"Good afternoon, Captain Short," he said, a little more cold than usual. It was always nice to see Holly, but her visits usually signaled some coming disaster that he would somehow have to help prevent. He didn't usually have a problem with that, but this time it involved him having to forcibly remove a girl from her home and bring her to his. He was expecting an extremely good explanation.

She walked up to him and lightly punched his hip. "Don't be so formal. I thought you were actually starting to loosen up."

He hid his wince and tried to keep his composed mask. She made it rather difficult but he managed. "I wasn't expecting seeing you in a uniform so soon. I was under the impression that you had no intention of going back to the LEP while it was still under the command of Sool. Or that he would let you, for that matter."

"And you would be correct. This isn't LEP. This is Section Eight."

"Fascinating. I would love to hear the story, but first I would like to know why you had me fly halfway around the world to kidnap a completely unremarkable young woman merely a few months after I had sworn off such activity."

Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. He had never been prone to kidnapping innocents (with the exception of Holly-something he would never forgive himself for) and his other victims were grown men who had done something to anger him or threaten his empire. But he still would have been much less opposed about it a few months ago.

She made a placating gesture. "Alright, don't get your boxers in a twist. You're right. You need and deserve to know. Are there any recording devices in the room?" He narrowed his eyes and walked over to his computer. A moment of clicking and typing later, he said, "Not anymore."

"Good." She sat on the edge of the desk and seemed to hesitate. "Artemis, what I'm about to tell you is ranked higher than top secret. What is spoken in this room must stay between us. You can't even tell Butler."

Artemis was the closest thing to shocked he had been since he had rediscovered the People. Butler had been there on every single mission and contributed just as much as he had. In the first few years, Holly probably would have said he was the more trustworthy of the two, yet now she was saying Artemis had to keep a secret from him? Certainly, he had done just that on occasion, but that was always because the good of the mission, or kidnapping, depended on it.

He finally responded. "You want me to keep from my most trusted friend the reason why that girl is under my roof, which is hurting him much more than it is hurting me, a secret?"

She tried to reassure him. "Just for right now. If things go the way we hope then there will be no need for any of this to continue, or for him to know, and we'll wipe her and send her home. If not- and I pray to Frond this isn't the case- then we'll have no choice but to tell him. Heck, the big boys at the top didn't even want me to tell you this, but that could hardly work since it's taking place in your home."

He raised an eyebrow, but nodded his agreement. "Very well. He shall not know."

She looked relieved. "Good." She cleared her throat. "Now, the only people who know anything about this are Foaly, Vinyaya, a few secret agents who shall not be named, and, once upon a time, Root. Not even most council members are aware of this operation."

"You don't include yourself?"

She fidgeted slightly. "I don't include myself on that list because it is very possible that I won't know about this afterwards. They're considering mind wiping me once this all blows over. You as well."

The only reaction he showed to this was the slightest twitch by his left eye. He took a seat and leaned forward on the desk. "I'm listening."

**A/N Yeah, I know I'm evil. I have come to adore cliff hangers even though I hate reading them. Sorry if this chapter started out a bit silly but I couldn't really think of how else to write it. Poor Rebecca, she doesn't know that Arty has access to mind-wipes. That would be a very helpful thing to know. Then she wouldn't have to worry so much about him whacking her, but that won't be happening any time soon. I can't remember the name of the book I mentioned, but if you recognize it, obviously I don't own it. As far as Butler's behavior, I read that when someone starts hyperventilating you are supposed to reassure them to help calm them down, so that's why he was being a little OOC. Plus I love a gentle Butler. :) And the paper bag thing: symptoms from hyperventilating comes from actually having too much oxygen, so if you breath into a paper bag you get a whole lot of carbon dioxide which will actually help you breath. As long as you only use it for a few minutes anyway. I think that's everything. Love you guys, see you next time. :) **

**Edit 7/14/12- Changed a few tiny things, nothing major.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Here's chapter 10 of Unusual Circumstances. Yes, I am aware that you are probably incredibly ticked off with me at the moment. I'm not going to give you any excuses (honestly, there aren't any besides that this one just didn't come easily). Quite a few interesting things have happened since I last posted but there's too much to put here and most you probably don't care anyway. The most important thing going on is that tomorrow I will be taking that Math test that they have everywhere that pretty much determines whether or not you're going to pass or fail whatever grade you're in. Then the day after that will be Reading. So please wish me luck even if you are really annoyed with me. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.**

**ArtemisPOV**

Artemis listened silently as Holly told her story. It all sounded fantastic, to put it mildly, but after all these years he knew that almost nothing was impossible where the People were concerned. That being said, he was the closest thing to shocked as he had been when his homework had been returned with a red 99% written at the top.

Silence fell between the two as Holly's story came to an end, the only sound was the whirring of the laptop monitors. Artemis closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, deep in thought.

It certainly explained a lot: her completely normal persona; her apparent lack of information. It didn't explain the chip in her arm, but with more information, he was certain he would find the answer. Then again, maybe not. According to Holly, finding this girl had not been an exact science. There had been plenty of guess work and room for failure involved; it was possible that they had completely botched the process and wasted their time on someone who had nothing to offer them.

He opened his eyes.

"So how do we verify that she is, in fact, the right girl?" he inquired.

"There'll be a full moon next week. There's a test we can perform then to make sure."

"Ah, the time of the ritual." He paused for a moment, then straightened up. "Very well. We'll keep her until then, unless you had something else in mind. I assume the test will take place here?"

Holly nodded. "Yes. We were actually hoping that we could set up base here. Makes it easier to keep the entire operation contained."

"Hmm, yes." He thought for a moment. "You can set up on the north wing of the manor, where you originally stayed. We can section off the hallways, and there should be no reason for her to be over there."

"Sounds good. I'll run it through Foaly, and we can set up immediately." She hopped off the desk and started for the door.

Artemis was quietly relieved that she made no comment on his choice of location. He wasn't trying to reopen old wounds; it was simply the most logical place for them to set up.

"Oh, before you go, I-" He was abruptly cut off by a low grumbling noise.

Holly stopped and slowly turned around to stare at him incredulously. "Artemis, was that your stomach?"

He blinked. "I suppose it was."

**RebeccaPOV**

Upon further inspection of her room, Rebecca found that the bathroom was fully stocked with shampoo, conditioner, and any other hygiene products she may need. She didn't recognize any of the names but they looked expensive. She supposed it wasn't really much of a surprise. You could tell just by looking at the drive way that these people were obviously loaded.

Another thing she found that was both convenient and disturbing was that the drawers were filled with enough clothes to last maybe a couple weeks. The convenient part: she didn't need to worry about staying in the same clothes the entire time she was there. The disturbing part was that they were all exactly her size- even the underwear. She didn't want to know how Artemis had figured that out.

Rebecca decided that a shower was very much in order. She hadn't taken one since the night before last, and she was starting to smell and feel a bit ripe.

Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed and immensely more cheerful. She was still far away from home and the prisoner of a psychotic adolescent, but at least she was clean.

She dried off and put on a plain white T-shirt and jeans and then she went to the window. She knew that it was idiotic to think they would have left such an obvious escape route open, but she wanted to cover every possibility, no matter how slim.

She was right, of course, and could find no way to open the window.

The room was on the second floor and it seemed to be overlooking a garden. It was rather bare given that it was the middle of winter, but she was sure it would be magnificent in the summer. There was a small path snaking through it and a pond a ways away to the right. About a hundred meters away was a wall that seemed to completely enclose the manor and went several floors higher than her room, so there was no way she could signal for help even if there was someone to see it. She didn't know for sure where they were, but she doubted it was anywhere near civilization.

She rested her head against the glass, thinking hard. The only way she could use this as an escape route was if she broke it. It was probably safe to assume that the window was made of safety glass, meaning she would need a lot more force to break it than she had. Even if she could find a way to break it, they would probably notice and be on her too quickly for her to actually take advantage of it.

She would also need a rope or something similar to get to the bottom floor. She might be able to use the sheets on the bed and the towels in the bathroom, but she doubted it would go unnoticed if she just started stripping her bed. Assuming she did make it to the ground floor, she'd have to get past the gate, which she supposed she could climb if she was given the time and it wasn't electrically charged. Finally, there'd probably be a several mile trek to try and find help.

Then there was Butler. If she started to make a rope out of the sheets he'd stop her. If she broke the window he'd come and restrain her. If she made it to the bottom floor he'd catch her. If she tried to vault the gate and run away he'd chase her down.

Really, the only way for any escape plan to possibly work would be if he were out of commission, and she could come up with no plausible way for that to happen. What was she supposed to do, shoot him? Even if she did somehow miraculously get ahold of a gun, she didn't think she could do it. She felt no sympathy for him or his master, but for her to actually point a gun at another human being with the intent to shoot, she would have to be truly desperate. Unfortunately, it seemed like they were getting dangerously close to that point. They hadn't killed her yet because they needed her for something. What that was, she had no idea, but it was all that was keeping her alive for the moment.

What would they do when they finally got what they wanted? Would they make it quick and just shoot her, or would they be more sadistic? Sickening thoughts started to flood her mine of all the things they could do to her. She suddenly regretted all those books and movies she'd ever read and seen that were now helping to supply her imagination. The ideas became gradually more horrific and she started to feel panicked.

_Stop it, Rebecca,_ she ordered herself. _If you lose it now you won't get it back anytime soon, and you to be ready for anything these people might throw at you._

She was startled out of her musings by a firm knock on the door.

"C-come in," she called after a moment's hesitation.

The door opened, and, who else, Butler walked in, stopping just in front of the door. She tensed, not sure what to expect but knowing it couldn't be anything good.

"Master Artemis requests you join him for lunch."

Right at that moment her stomach decided to emit a very audible growl, making her remember that she hadn't eaten a thing since the day before at lunch. Salisbury steak, canned spinach and soggy tater tots all sounded much more appealing now that she hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours.

In any other situation she probably would have burst out laughing at the noise, the person she was with at least cracking a smile, but the man in front of her was completely stoic and her nerves were stretched too thin to do something as light-hearted as laugh. She hesitated another moment.

"Requests?" she finally echoed.

"It would probably be in your best interest to attend," the manservant replied flatly.

"I suppose I'll go then," she said quietly and followed him out of the room.

**A/N And I imagine that extremely unpleased emotion is back again. I completely skipped the resolution of the cliff hanger from last chapter and left you yet another. Just keep in mind that if you kill me you will never figure out what happens. The next chapter will **_**hopefully**_** come out faster that this last one. Crap, now I actually need to figure out just what the heck they're going to talk about... Love you guys, and don't forget to review. :)**

**Edit 7/14/12- Changed a few little things, not much**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Here is chapter 11 of Unusual Circumstances. I am so sorry. Blame Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith for the late update. I've pretty much been spending all of my free time since the last chapter drooling excessively over them while watching Doctor Who. So you can probably expect to see some from me in the near future. The good thing is I have finally finished all of Nu!Who and school is now out, so I'll be able to focus on fanfiction more. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and review even though you're probably mad at me.**

**uchiha-sakura193: Thank you very much for your slightly threatening comment. It was the one that made me get off my arse and write. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl. I do own the character you're about to read about though.**

**Unknown POV**

The camouflaged figure crept silently in the gray brush towards the road, finally stopping to pull out binoculars from within her clothing. She trained them on the imposing gates that her quarry was about to enter. She heard an engine and looked down the road to where the car was approaching.

She reached up to a small device attached to her ear.

"Base, I have a visual. Over."

"Copy that. How many and who? Over"

She turned a knob on the binoculars and the view changed to thermal imaging. There was one very large mass of red at the driver's seat, a smaller one in the middle, and another one in the trunk, plus one where she knew the engine to be.

"Everyone we expected. Do I move in? Over."

"Negative, we can't risk the child being injured. Observe the security measures and report. Over."

She turned the binoculars to the original setting, cursing the tactical genius who had built the manor on a hill. Her position limited how much observing she could actually do.

The Bentley stopped in front of the gates and she zoomed in. The monstrous man- Butler, she recalled- leaned out the window. She cursed again when she saw what he was doing. Eyeball scanner. Well, that meant the front door was out, not that that had ever really been an option.

The car pulled in, allowing her a brief look at the fortress inside, before the gates closed behind them automatically.

She relayed back what she'd seen.

"Copy that. Pull back for now. Over."

She paused for a moment, staring at the manor with narrowed eyes, before finally slipping away.

**Rebecca POV**

Rebecca had read in books several times where the main character was offered really good food, but in a situation where they found their appetite had abandoned them. This did not apply to her.

She saw the way Artemis was looking at her out of the corner of her eye, skepticism mixed with a trace of disgust, but she really couldn't bring herself to give a crap.

The second Butler had set the steak down in front of her she had attacked it with such gusto that a different server might have feared losing his hand. As it was, he merely asked her what she would like to drink. Something that vaguely sounded like 'milk' came from her stuffed mouth.

After a moment, Artemis spoke up. "No one's going to take it from you. I would recommend you slowing down before you choke or become sick."

The only external response she showed was to merely shrug and ignore him, while internally she scoffed. _Yeah, you only kidnapped me and took me to a different country, I don't need to worry about you taking anything else. _She knew that was rather silly, but she really didn't care.

About five minutes later, every scrap of food on her plate was gone, and she was resting her head on the table, groaning softly.

When she looked up again he was wearing a smug look that very well communicated, "I told you so." She found that she was very good at ignoring that look.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she asked, leaning back in her chair.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you assume that there is anything I want to discuss with you?"

She snorted. "If your only goal was to make sure I didn't pass out from hunger then you could have just had food brought to my room."

"Maybe I just enjoy your company," he said, for a moment looking completely serious, then returning to mocking. "You're more perceptive than most people your age, I'll give you that."

Her face turned red and flustered. "Just answer the question, please," she said snappily.

"So impatient. I just wanted to inform you that neither myself or any of my associates intend on killing you, as you seem so convinced of."

For a brief moment she felt relief, then the emotion went away and she was back to cynical.

"Nothing to say?"

She shrugged. "I don't know what there is _to_ say. There's no way for me to know if you're telling the truth or not. If you're telling the truth, great, I'm still in Ireland and a prisoner with no idea why I'm here. If you're lying, not so great, and I'm still in Ireland with no idea why I'm here."

"So, it doesn't make any sort of difference to you?"

"I don't know, I guess," she said tiredly, putting her elbows on the table and rubbing her eyes. She was pretty sure the jet lag was starting to catch up with her and all the food she had eaten wasn't helping.

"Butler, perhaps you should escort our guest back to her room," he said with a frown.

"I don't suppose you'll tell me why exactly I'm here before I go? Or who your associates who want me are? How long I'm going to be here?" she asked, standing up.

"Not just yet, I'm afraid. Perhaps later."

She sighed and followed Butler out of the room.

The journey _to_ the dining room had been very uneventful. Butler hadn't said a word to her, and she had tried to get a feel for the building (which she failed miserably at).

Which is why she was surprised when they turned a corner, and she caught the briefest glance at something very short standing in the middle of the hall. Before she could get a proper look, she felt a pair of hands push her through a door that had not been open a moment before, and then heard the door slam shut behind her.

_What the heck? _she wondered, feeling disoriented as she lay on the floor. She looked around and found that she was in a room very similar to her own, but not made up for guests.

Another difference was on the desk. On top of it sat a computer, humming enticingly.

**A/N Hmm, even more players entering the game. We'll have to see where they come in. Also, this has been mentioned more than once in the comments so I'm going to explain it now.**

**In the POVs I say that it is from a persons point of view even though I'm using third person. That's because I'm using third person limited. It's the story explained from an outside observer, but it still only explains the situation from the point of view of one person. If I was using third person omniscient, it would tell the story from an outside observer who would know everything collectively. Since I'm only using limited, I've decided to put it down as one of the character's point of view so people still know what point the story is being told from. Plus it would be even more difficult to keep characters in character if it was first person.**

**Or to quote my beta who says it much more clearly: Like Harry Potter! All seven books are told from third person limited, which is Harry.**

**Hope that cleared some things up. Thanks for reading and sticking with this story even with my erratic updates. Love you guys, see you next time. :) **

**Edit 7/14/12- Changed a few little things, not much**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Here is chapter 12 of Unusual Circumstances. I realized while I was writing this that I had gone so long without thinking about him that I forgot Rebecca's dad's name. Since you probably did too, it is Stan. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl**

**Rebecca POV**

She didn't waste another moment and found herself at the keyboard typing frantically. She had already thought about what she would do if she got to a computer. She'd login to her e-mail account, click the first person on her contacts, and type out quickly her approximate location.

She would have done that, except the website was blocked. She cursed Artemis and herself and whoever it was that made it so you could block websites. She gritted her teeth and typed in a new search.

"Artemis. Fowl. The. Second," she murmured as she typed and hit enter. If she couldn't call for help she could at least know who she was dealing with.

She clicked on the first thing she saw, which, unsurprisingly, was a crime investigation website. She scanned over the page quickly, eyes widening as she read.

She could remember why his name was familiar now.

_FLASHBACK 7 years_

_Rebecca crept quietly down the hall, her blanket dragging audibly on the floor. She had had the dream again, and since her dad was actually home for once she was going to see him._

_She was about to open the door to his bedroom when she heard a noise in the kitchen. She walked over and slowly peeked around the corner._

_Her dad was in the kitchen with a man she had never seen before. They were both holding a glass of wine and looked like they were recovering from some earlier joke._

_"Alright Tom, all jokes aside, why are you really here? It's not like you to make social visits." The other man smiled shrewdly and launched into a long monologue that Rebecca's 7 year old mind didn't understand a word of. __"Basically, Stan, you might want to have a fall back ready just in case things go south for the company. You never know with Artemis Fowl," he finished with a sip of his wine._

_Her dad muttered a word that made her gasp. Daddy shouldn't say a word like that!_

_Her dad's eyes darted to the doorway. "Rebecca," he said sternly, "what are you doing out of bed?"_

_Rebecca shuffled out shamefaced. "I had a bad dream," she said tremulously. Her dad sighed, stood up, and walked over to her, kneeling down to see her better._

_"What have I said about eavesdropping?"_

_"Only do it if you know you won't be caught?" Tom laughed and her dad spluttered. _

_"I was just kidding when I said that," he muttered. _

_"It is very rude and eavesdroppers never hear good things about themselves? But you weren't talking about me," she protested._

_He sighed. "Alright, never mind. Just go back to bed and I'll come see you later."_

_Rebecca pouted but gathered up her blanket and started to walk back down the hall. She stopped and turned around with a contemplative frown on her face. _

_"Daddy, who's Artemis Fowl?"_

_The other man spoke up before he could. "You ever seen the movie _The Godfather_?"_

_Her eyes widened and she nodded fearfully. She had come into spy on her dad and instead ended up watching more than half the movie. At that time she had no stomach for movies even slightly disturbing. She'd had to sleep in her dad's room for a week, and then another week in Jenny's after he left._

_"Well, he's kinda like the guys in that movie, except in real life."_

_Her eyes somehow managed to get even bigger and she left the room quickly. _

_"Thanks a lot, Tom. Now she'll never get to sleep," she heard her dad grumble before she slammed the door shut on her room._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

So that must have been his father they were talking about at the time. Definitely his father's son then.

As she remembered that night all those years ago and read the article, the feeling of dread- which hadn't left her since she first saw the Bentley- grew larger and her hope for escape smaller.

**Butler POV**

Artemis had told him that under no uncertain terms was Rebecca to come in contact with the fairies staying at the Manor. This shouldn't have been a problem since the fairies were supposed to be confined to a specific part of the manor. So when the first thing he saw when turning the corner was a stunned looking elf frozen in the middle of the hall, he did his best to follow the order he'd been given. Which at the moment meant shoving the unsuspecting girl into the nearest room and locking her in it.

Once that was out of the way, he quickly approached the elf who looked just about ready to faint. He crouched down to better talk with him but he still towered over the poor guy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked quietly.

"I-I-I," the elf stuttered. Butler sighed. Intimidating stature came in handy for many situations, but sometimes it could be counterproductive.

"I w-was just helping move in some equipment, b-but the boss forgot something and sent me back to get it."

"I believe everyone was instructed to bring any equipment in through the back entrance. What are you doing _here_?"

"I got lost," he muttered, now looking embarrassed on top of terrified.

Butler gave him directions and landmarks to look out for and sent him on his way. The elf looked very glad to be leaving.

_You'd think that the operatives would be a bit more intelligent what with how important this mission apparently is, _he thought as he watched him leave. Which made him wonder what exactly the mission was.

It was incredibly frustrating that Artemis wouldn't tell him what was going on, but it was hardly the first time. And he trusted Holly. If she said he didn't need to know, he'd go with it. But that didn't stop it from being a pain.

He went to unlock the door and wondered how he would explain what had just happened. He was pretty sure the girl hadn't gotten a good look at the fairy, but she had still seen him and would be wondering what he was and why he was so keen to keep her away from him. He decided he just wouldn't tell her anything at all. He was the bad guy after all, hardly expected to do anything helpful.

He paused as he thought of something. He hadn't heard her try to open the door. That'd be the expected response, try to figure out what was going on.

He opened the door quickly and found her glued to a computer.

**Rebecca POV**

She had made it to the part where the article, somewhat, explained the history of the Butler's, when a huge hand fell on her shoulder and yanked her away from the computer.

Then she was on the floor staring at the back of her warden as he quickly went through her search history.

_What is it with this guy and throwing people around? _wondered the part of her that wasn't terrified of retribution. She had gotten far enough into the article for her fear of Butler to be renewed and increased.

She got to her feet, her eyes going to the door, but she didn't even bother considering it. There was nowhere to go and no way to get there.

Rebecca looked at the floor, fidgeted, looked at the wall, then wrung her fingers. She had only done the two searches, but he seemed to take forever going through them. He finally turned around to face her.

"Alright, come on," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her out. She was a little surprised at the lack of a negative reaction, but she didn't say anything.

He took her back to her room and left, locking the door of course.

Rebecca closed the curtains and collapsed on the bed, her earlier exhaustion returning. She didn't go to sleep though. She had a lot to think about.

**A/N Pretty much just wrote this chapter so she could figure out just who Artemis Fowl actually is. Sorry the ending was so weird/bad, I had a lot of trouble with it. I would absolutely love it if you reviewed and told me what you thought. Please? *pouty puppy dog eyes***


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N ... Go ahead and hate me if you want, I'm too tired at the moment to care. Yes, tis been several months since I updated. Even better, it's a frankly crappy chapter that has not yet seen my beta. Hurray. The next chapter will probably also be ridiculously late. I'm just running out of steam for this story (actually, started running out a few months ago). I don't intend to give up on it, but it is no longer my main focus. That has switched mostly over to my original work on my deviantArt account. (Username girlwhowrites if anyone's interested. Like I said, mostly original work, this is the only fanfiction on there.)**

**Those of you who are still reading this story: You are amazing and I don't deserve you. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl. If I did, I would not be here.**

**Unusual Circumstances: Chapter 13**

**Rebecca POV**

Rebecca rubbed her eyes blearily as she once again followed Butler down the hall. He had come and retrieved her from her room a few hours after he had left her there, saying that 'Master Artemis' wished to speak to her.

He finally came to a stop in front of a steel enforced door, knocking quickly.

"Enter," she heard Artemis call.

She assumed it was his study, though she didn't pay it much attention, more focused on the boy sitting in the center of it at his desk. He was typing on his computer, which was angled so that he could see the screen, but it didn't block his view of the door.

"Hello again, Miss Anderson," he said formally, turning to face her.

"What do you want?" she asked wearily. She really didn't feel like dealing with his "I am a gracious host and you are my honored guest" act at the moment and just wanted to get this over with, whatever it was.

"So impatient. Before we get to that, Butler told me that you've been doing a little research. An intelligent enough move on your part. Since you already know enough about me for secrecy to be pointless is there anything else you'd like to know?"

She was slightly thrown by this, wondering why he would even give her the opportunity to find anything useful, or if it was a trick. She thought for a moment and decided it certainly couldn't make anything worse.

She knew he was a certifiable genius, his bodyguard could probably kill her from twenty feet away without even looking, and he was one of the richest, smartest, and most powerful people in the world. What else did she need to know? Maybe if she could target a more personal area it would give her some unforseen edge. Plus, she was curious.

"Where are your parents?" she finally asked. She was slightly disappointed (but not at all surprised) when he showed no visible reaction to this.

"They are currently on a five month world cruise. You will most likely not have the pleasure of meeting them."

"They left you here by yourself?"

"That is incorrect. Butler is here, and in any case I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. It was their original intention to bring me along, but I insisted they go by themselves as their first real vacation since Father has recovered."

"Are they aware that you are keeping me prisoner here?"

"No," he said coldly, without any embellishment.

She decided to change tact. "Who was that in the hall earlier?" she asked, certain that Butler would have told him about the incident.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that one as it does not strictly pertain to the Fowls. Now, on the matter of why you're in my study."

He turned back to his computer but motioned for her to come over.

She hesitated, then walked around behind him to see the screen. There was a picture of her along with most of her basic information. Height(she felt rather chagrined to read), weight, age, things like that. There was also a "Was last seen wearing" and numbers to call if you had any information.

"Yesterday, this file didn't exist. No one outside of those who had personally met you knew anything about you or had access to any information about you. Now that information on you is needed and expected, it suddenly appears. What does this tell us?"

She stared at the screen blankly, trying to see what he was getting at exactly.

"Come now, Rebecca, it's not difficult," he chided. "Things don't just come out of nowhere. Someone put it there. Someone who knows who you are, knew you were gone before the police did, and has made efforts to make sure the police don't discover the mystery surrounding you."

She was feeling intensely frustrated and not a little bit scared. Why were all these people so interested in her? First Artemis and his "friends", then whoever it was that put that tracker in her arm, the people that followed them in that van, and now this.

"So, on top of you, the tracker chip, and the black van, I now also have someone who has access to police records stalking me?"

He was looking at the screen thoughtfully, not seeming to pay her any mind.

"I don't think these are all separate groups that are so interested in your person. In fact, I'm ninety-eight point five percent sure they're all headed by the same person." At this, he turned to look at her, and she got the impression that he was searching her face for something. If that was the case, all he got was confusion and anxiety.

**Artemis POV**

The only reason he had called her up here was to make sure she was unaware of this supposed group. He didn't think she was, but he wanted to be completely certain. Once it was made apparent she had no prior knowledge, he no longer required her presence.

"Butler, if you would please escort Miss Anderson back to her room."

"What? That's it? You're just going to drop a bomb like that and then make me leave?" she demanded, sounding flustered and alarmed. He felt the slightest twinge of compassion, but it was not enough to influence him.

"What else did you expect?" he asked, cocking his head slightly to the side.

She scowled at him but left without any more of a fuss.

Now that she was gone he turned his attention back to his computer. The police database had been ridiculously easy to hack into, disappointingly so, but not entirely fruitless. They now had a slightly better on what they were dealing with, though, it failed to shed any light on _who._

If he thought about it, they probably weren't even a hostile group, at least, not to her. They had obviously known about Rebecca for a long time and made no move against her, only revealing themselves when she was in apparent danger. Unless he was wrong and the people who had followed them and the person who had put up her file were separate. He was rarely wrong though.

He pulled up another window, this one a profile on her father, Stanley Arnold Anderson. He was short(probably where Rebecca got it from), slightly overweight, and was balding, what little hair he had left was brown as were his eyes. Until the record for his daughter had shown up, the profile had not even included that he had one. Same went for his deceased wife.

He had tried to find the mother while on the jet to no avail. Now he clicked on the link, and this time, something popped up, rather similar to Rebecca's case.

Melanie Jessica Anderson, maiden name Tyler, a tall, rather pretty red headed woman with the same green eyes as Rebecca. Died in child birth.

He leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. Now what was this woman to garner the same, well, not attention, but concealment as her daughter. She couldn't be the same, Holly reassured him that this never happened two generations in a row, so what was it? Was it just another extension of hiding Rebecca? But then why wasn't the father concealed as well? No, that wouldn't work. His job would probably have people looking him up regularly. So, only those who could be hidden without any questions asked.

His eyes darted up at the sound of the door opening.

"Captain Short, don't you know how to knock?"

"As a matter of fact, Arty, I do, I just didn't feel like it," she said with a smirk, then was serious. "So, about that tracker in her arm, I thought you said you knocked it out with an EMP? Why would you want Foaly to look at it?"

"It may help us figure out who they are. We have very little to go on, just suspicion and theories, and it may give us something more solid we can work with." He didn't add that he also acting on a hunch. He despised relying on feeling rather than fact, but this one just wouldn't go away.

"Well, Foaly's busy setting up camp right now, but he might be able to take a look later tonight. I know you don't need to be reminded that she can't be allowed to see us. Is it safe to assume you already have something in mind?"

His lips quirked into something that vaguely resembled a smile. "Do you even need to ask?"

**A/N I've gone back and edited most of the chapters. It doesn't have a huge affect on the story, but it might make a bit more sense. **


End file.
